to formercongresswomangabbygiffordsandleading the fight for gun control. we learnedthatgabbygiffordswilltestify. i want to bring in managing editor of the grio. gabby dif fords tweeted, heading to senate for hearing on gun violence, thanks to senator leahy and chuck grassley for starting this conversation. i'm wondering if you think the voice of gabby gifford, she has an emotional story and she knows these folks. how influential can she be in this? >> she has tremendous moral authority on this issue as did the families from newtown. i think having people like her being a part of this conversation, it only adds to the pressure on republicans to give something. i think the only outcome that seems impossible is that absolutely nothing would be done. because you have a con fluance of events. you add the outrage of it happening to children, so i can't imagine that nothing would be done. >> we see wayne lapierre in that group of people. i think as i was giving this some thought this morning, because we've talked so much about why nothing changed after gabby giffords was shot. she sadly c

xpress by charles schwab. >>> right now on "andrea mitchellreports,"gabbygiffordsreturnsto deliver a passionate appeal for gun laws. >> speaking is difficult, but i need to say something important. violence is a big problem. too many children are dying. too many children. we must do something. it's will be hard, but the time is now. you must act. be bold, be courageous. americans are counting on you. >> hillary clinton's exit from the world stage, but for how long? >> what do you think didn't go well, what went wrong? >> well, benghazi went wrong. >> when that phone call rings at 3:00 in the morning, who's best prepared to answer it in 2016? >> well, that is to be decided by the american people. >> but will her health be a deciding factor? >> i'm healthy enough and my stamina is great enough. i'll be fully recovered to do whatever i choose to do. >> massachusetts governor deval patrick chooses his former chief of staff to fill john kerry's seat. it's the first time two african-americans will be in the senate statement. and john kerry about to be famous on the world stage, but even in boston, so

. the gun debate took on new emotional force with the reappearanceofgabbygiffordsinthe senate judiciary hearing. joining me now for our daily fix, chris cillizza, msnbc contributor and managing editor of washingtonpost.com and ruth marcus. well, it was so personal, so emotional, so painful. chris cillizza, could anybody do a better job than gabby giffords to bring home the powerful impact of the gun debate and, in her case, the magazines? >> you know, andrea, it was incredibly sort of personal and touching, and i think even more so for those members of congress who know that she was at a constituent service event when this happened, that it could have been any one of them, and it happened to be her. i did think it was telling senator durbin from illinois, apologize former congressman giffords had already left, but apologized to mark kelly this hearing wasn't happening two years ago in the wake of her being shot, but i do think it's a telling sign that we tend to, newtown may have changed this dynamic, but we tend to have a huge discussion about guns and gun control and the need to regul

. especially when a very well-known survivor of gunviolence,gabbygiffords, cameforward to deliver her own remarks. and yet during the hearing, we learned of another shooting. this one in arizona. a workplace, one gunman, three shooting victims, one fatal. we begin tonight with this emotional issue. our report from nbc's kelly o'donnell on capitol hill. >> reporter: good evening, brian. the passion so deep, this hearing room was packed, included many families and survivors, victims of other shootings. and it was a group of people asking congress to do something, and that is the cause that changed the life of former congresswoman, gabby giffords, and brought her back to washington today. her gift of speech is a distant memory, said husband mark kelly. yet gabby giffords' halting words. >> too many children. >> reporter: here as a survivor of the tucson assassination attempt that left her partially blind and partially paralyzed. >> you must act. be bold, be courageous. >> reporter: giffords and kelly, both gun owners, want congress to expand background checks to gun shows and private sales t

gabbygiffords, avictim of gun violence herself. she was in town to lend her voice to a hearing on capitol hill, the first since the newtown mass car. kelly o'donnell has more. >> reporter: per gift of speech is a distance memory said her husband mark kelly, yet, gabby giffords halting words. >> too many children. >> reporter: here as a survivor of the tucson assassination attempt which left her partially blind and partially paralyzed. >> you must act, be bold, be courageous. >> reporter: they are both gun owners and they want positive expand sales to make it harder for criminals and the mentally im to get weapons. >> my wife would not be sitting in this seat. she would not have been sitting here today if we had stronger background checks. >>> of all the gun related ideas on the table, democrats believe universal background checks has the best chance politically. >> stop them from the original purchase. you missed that point completely. and i think it's basic. >> senator, i think you missed -- >> reporter: the nra says adding new laws would hit ordinary citizens, not criminals.

.congresswomangabbygiffordsshowedunbelievable courage on capitol hill today. now we'll see if the cowards in congress have the character to do something about guns in this country. this is "the ed show." let's get to work. >> too many children are dying. we must do something. >> gabby giffords makes a surprise emotional plea, and the nra responds with nonsense. >> background checks will never be universal. >> you missed that point completely. >> tonight senator sheldon whitehouse on today's dramatic day of testimony. plus, dan gross of the brady campaign on the heroes fighting for gun safety and the villains who want to keep it the way it is. >>> the republican obsession with european austerity. kneecap the nation's economy. david cay johnston on today's troubling gdp report. >>> bobby jindal breaks his own rule. >> we've got to stop being the stupid party. >> find out how the poor in his state are about to start suffering on friday. >>> and brand-new polling proves again that we're living in a center-left country. tonight i'll tell you why it's up to one person to keep it that way. good

in a home. >> earlier in the day, president obama met with former arizonacongresswomangabbygiffords, avictim of gun violence herself. giffords was in town to lend her voice to a hearing on guns on capitol hill. the first since the newtown, massacre. nbc's kelly o'donnell has more. >> reporter: her gift of speech is a distant memory said husband mark kelly, yet gabby giffords' halting words. >> too many children. >> reporter: here as a survivor of the tucson assassination attempt that left her partially blind and partially paralyzed. >> you must act. be bold. be courageous. >> reporter: giffords and kelly, both gun owners, want congress to expand background checks to gun shows and private sales to make it harder for criminals and the mentally ill to get weapons. >> my wife would not be sitting in this seat, she would not have been sitting here today, if we had stronger background checks. >> reporter: of all the gun-related ideas on the table, democrats believe universal background checks has the best chance politically. >> we'll stop them from the original purchase. you missed that

. tonight's lead, a moment of courage. today, formerrepresentativegabbygiffordsopenedthe first congressional hearing on gun violence since the horrible shootings at sandyhook elementary. ms. gifford spoke with the experience as a survivor of an asas sane's bullet. >> violence is a big problem. too many children are dying. too many children. we must do something. the time is now. you must act. be bold. be courageous. americans are counting on you. >> be bold. be courageous. more than a month has passed since twenty-first graders were gunned down at sandyhook. and the violence is continuing daily. this morning, while the hearing was under way, three people were shot and wounded at an office complex in arizona. reports there has been more than 1400 shootings. 1400 shooting deaths since the massacre at sandyhook elementary school. that tally doesn't include the heart wrenching story of the high school honor student and band member from chicago who performed at some of president obama's inug ral festivities just last week. 15 years old. she had her whole life in front of her. but, y

. >>> powerful plea. gun violence forever altered herlife.gabbygiffordswithher emotional speech. >>> and a boy dashes on to the court right in the middle of a college basketball game. >>> good thursday morning. i'm sunny hostin. >> and i'm rob nelson. we begin with the wicked weather that unleashed two dozen tornadoes on the south and the west. flipping cars, trucks, even a moving freight train. >> that storm is trejing up the east coast this morning. and big cities, d.c. and new york are getting drenched. abc's tahman bradley has the latest on the storm blamed, now, for at least two deaths. >> reporter: wicked weather lashed parts of the midwest and south, heavy flooding, dangerous winds and monster tornadoes. look at these images north of atlanta. >> a funnel north of the interstate. >> reporter: a tornado with winds estimated over 120 miles per hour, demolished homes, office buildings and wiped out parts of a factory. >> it picked me up and flinged me three times. trying to get that door closed. >> i had to dig my way out. >> i thought it killed my son in the bedroom in there

to say something important. >> formercongresswomangabbygiffordsandher husband are in congress for stricting gun control laws and the head of the nra looks on. good morning, i'm bill karins and this is "way too early." we're glad you're up with us on this thursday, last day of january, 31st. we have a lot to talk about, including john kerry's final farewell in the senate after three decades of service. we'll show you his emotional speech. plus, israel launches a rare strike inside the syrian border. coming up, a live report on what they were targeting and why. first, our top story here at 5:30 a.m. eastern time in new york city. we begin with the first congressional hearing on gun control since the shootings in newtown. gabby giffords who survived a shooting two years ago made an appearance before the senate judiciary committee reading off a page of handwritten prepared remarks, she urged congress to act now. >> too many children are dying. too many children. we must do something. it will be hard, but the time now. you must act. be bold, be courageous. americans are counting on

,gabbygiffordsleftwith the aid of her husband, who hardly sounded confident. you can they can get a bill passed? yet another sign the fate of gun control won't be settled at a hearing. >> nancy robinson is executive director. matt, let me start with you. pretty interesting about face by the nra and probably surprising a lot of people watching, but tell me why you don't think background checks, a universal background check is going to work? >> first of all, has there ever been a worse spokesman? seriously. i like the 98 version better. the idea it's a panecea, if you look at the three most recent high profile examples, the roar area shooter purchased guns legally. the only example where a background check might have changed things is in tucson, but we don't even know. it's a counterfactual if you couldn't have bought a gun legally, he would have found it some other way. >> first, even now, we've got limited checks. there's all these loopholes. department of justice says 1.9 million applications to buy guns were rejected. people were convicted of felonies, had been indicted for crim

atgabbygiffordshassuper pac, michael bloomberg, mayor bloomberg has a super pac spending a lot of money. nra was not very effective they had a lot of losses of people they back in a big way. didn't win in congress. >> the president's approval ratings are higher than at any time since he was first elected. >> and the polls are with the president. but you make the most important point. nra has had this game all to themselves. they have been able to play it with no money in the game, on the side of people who wanted some sense of gun safety. now with people like gabby giffords, people who can attract funds and target them strategically i think the game is -- >> the president has the national -- we have more power than nra but i believe you were right from the standpoint and being a person who makes laws people should come to this table find out what they do agree on instead of politicizing it. it is a political issue. i think leaders should come together and stop the bipartisan -- with enyou have the nra saying we're against an assault weapons ban, against everything. to me the nra has bec

but the hearing took a more even dramatic turn when formercongresswomangabbygiffordswasthere. giffords led off with a statement that lasted about one minute. >> speaking is difficult, but i need to say something important. violence is a big problem. too many children are dying. too many children. we must do something. >> giffords resigned from congress last january, one year after she was shot in theead at a public outreach meeting in tucson. she and her husband retired astronaut mark kelly have formed a political action group aimed at strengthening gun laws. >>> on to the big story this morning. traffic is still a mess thanks to a major crash on the beltway early this morning. this was from about 90 minutes ago. you can see cars slowly getting by on route 50 in lanham. it involved a fire truck and an suv and sent people to the hospital. melissa malloy is live from the scene. what you can tell us? >> reporter: good morning, we're on the eighth hour of this massive cleanup. take a look behind me. you can see the inner loop sheer so snarled, people just coming through. the accident has been

's jennifer davis has more now. >> you must act. >> reporter: formercongresswomangabbygiffordsmakesan emotional appeal for tougher gun laws. speaking haltingly two years after she was shot in the head during an assassination attempt that killed six. >> too many children are dieing. too many children. >> reporter: giffords made her dramatic surprise appearance at congress's first hearing on gun controlness is the newtown massacre. the white house and many democrats are pushing ifer re- enstating the assault weapon's game limiting the ammunition magazines to 10 rounds and mandating universal background checks to close the so-called gun show loophole. >> the best way to stop a bad guy from getting the gun in the first place is a good background check. >> reporter: the head of the nra said more school security and mental health resources are what is really needed, adding his group opposes expanding background check. >> law abiding gun owners will not accept blame for the acts of violent or deranged criminals. >> reporter: this clearly highlighted vastly different and emotional views on

control debate with a dramatic appeal from shootingvictimgabbygiffords. theformer arizona congresswoman helped to the witness table by her husband, mark kelly. gifford spoke just 80 words during her time at the mike. she said too many children are dying because of gun violence. and she called on lawmakers to do something. >> it will be hard, but the time is now. you must act. be bold. be courageous. americans are counting on you. >> after that, kelly argued for better background checks for gun buyers. meanwhile, the head of the nra, waip la pie wayne lapierre, was there as well. he said criminals would not be impacted by them because they do not undergo background checks. after the hearing, kelly and lapierre shook hands. >> strong disagreements. good to see they did shake hands. we disagree. we did so cordially and respectfully. >> what is the answer? what is the nra putting forth as the answer? >> security in schools, armed guards at their schools. that's their answer. the famous quote. the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. that is their sta

. the hearing began with a very very dramatic moment when former congresswomangabbygiffordscame inest forted by the chairman, chuck grassley, and her husband, mark kelly. she was asked to give the very first words at the hearing before anybody else spoke. she did so only 72 words, very moving powerful and halting speech, because she still has a long way to go with her recovery. >> violence is a big problem. too many children are dying. too many children. we must do something. >> bill: it was all carefully laid out. she had obviously rehearsed it and it really does sound like a first grader right? reading aloud in the class. >> yeah, she had to relearn how to speak. >> bill: she looked these senator right in the eye and said, you know look we need you. >> you must act. be bold, be courageous. americans are counting on you. >> bill: seventy-two words every one counted for sure. then the chairman opened with his statement calling on everybody to be open-minded. try to come to some solution the high road, patrick leahy took, and then chuck grassley got up and he lit in

she was doing her job. even moredramatic,gabbygiffordslaboredyet passion nal plea for passion. >> speaking is difficult but i need to say something important. violence is a big problem. too many children are dying. too many children. we must do something. be bold, be courageous, americans are counting on you. >> reporter: giffords is an advocate and so is her husband mark kelly. >> a strong supporter of the second amendment as anyone on this panel. my wife would not be sitting in this seat, she would not have been sitting here today if we had stronger background checks. >> reporter: at the other end of the table, the other star witness with a very different perspective. >> law-abiding gun owners will not accept blame for the acts of violent or deranged criminals: none of it makes any sense in the real world. >> mr. lapierre, that's the point. the criminals won't go to purchase the guns because there will be a background check. we'll start them from the original purchase. you missed that point completely. and i think it's basic. >> senator, i think you -- >> order. >> reporter:

down. you heard mark kelly the husbandofgabbygiffordtodaysuggesting the background check system was too weak on the shooter. gabby gifford herself appealed the law americas to get something that says look it's hard for me to speak but i will give you a brief portion of what she had to say. >> it will be hard, but the time is now. you must act. be bold, be courageous, americans are counting on you. a oo her husband said, britt, that 33 bullets were fired in 32 minutes, 33 people were hit. it was a hand gun. it was a semiautomatic hand gun but it had high capacity magazine. he would point to that situation as something that should change and would change under diane fine stein's legislation reducing magazine rounds to 10. >> maybe something like that could pass. it is still a tough sell in a lot of parts of the country. what tends to happen. you see an event like newtown tremendous imp to etus to this to restrict guns, firearms, then you see testimony of someone like gabby giffords. remarkable she is even there. she looks great. she has trouble speaking and it touches you. they gi

ideas? last night afterdoinggabbygiffordsspeech,he's from tennessee, i'm a huge fan of his. >> glen reynolds. >> glen reynolds said ask the question about the courage that gabby giffords is asking to be shown. glen said ask that question of democrats in red states that are running in 2014? are they going to have a political courage to do what gabby giffords thinks is the right thing on background checks, on high-capacity magazines, on assault weapons? >> i think it is unlikely that the congress will pass a ban on assault weapons. >> what about these democrats? how hard is it for the moderate democrats? >> speaking specifically of those democrats. i think they will have a hard time voting for a ban on assault weapons. i think willie's point about the background checks and the almost universal support makes it a much easier argument to pass. and two -- >> what about the high-capacity magazines? >> then on these big magazines, i think there's an agreement, a compromise, to be made for those who want to shoot and use those magazines at shooting clubs and while some may hunt with that, k

all the way back to aurora and going backtogabbygiffords. thisis the fear and the mongering they put out there. remember, lapierre said when they came out and spoke for the first time, oh, we should be having more police officers on the street. well -- and in schools. i agree with that. i would love to have more police officers in all of our communities. that alone will not solve the problem. it's got to be everything together holistically. more police, better education, certainly mental health, those are the things that we need to do. so those that want to work with us, that's great. but the nra, which they kind of gave us hints that they were willing to work with us, but now they have totally flipped and they want nothing to do with us. >> it's nothing from the nra. the nra's wayne la pierre -- we're out of time. we're going to keep this conversation up for months. you have had the experience of knowing how important it is. gabby giffords' husband, mark kelly. >> and that's the difference. other victims are now speaking up, and to see gabby yesterday and her husband by her

that includes mark kelly, husbandofgabbygiffords. beforetestimony began, giffords made a plea for action. >> violence is a big problem. too many children are dying. be bold, be courageous. americans are counting on you. >> kelly followed, arguing for restrictions on magazine clips, enhanced mental health care, and advanced background checks. >> we're both gun owners, and we take that right and the responsibilities that come with it very seriously, but rights demand responsibility, and this right does not extend to terrorists, it does not extend to criminals, and it does not extend to the mentally ill. >> while wayne lapierre struck a posture less combative than previous press conferences, his views remain questionable, calling for an immediate blanket of security at schools, lapierre dismissed universal background checks, saying criminals would never submit to them. chairman leahy pressed lapierre on background checks and whether and how the nra head had changed his mind on closing gun show loopholes. >> should we have mandatory background checks at gun shows for sales of weapons? >> if

. >>> on capitol hill, shooting victim and formercongresswoman,gabbygiffords, washelped into a hearing by her husband, mark kelly. it was a powerful call for congressional action. giffords demanded lawmakers do something, despite the opposition. >> too many children are dying. too many children. it will be hard. but the time is now. you must act. be bold, be courageous. americans are counting on you. >> and then, kelly called for better background checks for all gun sales. wayne lapierre of the national rifle association says background checks aren't the answer because criminals buying guns don't use them. >>> there's new momentum towards immigration reform. a bipartisan group from the house is working on legislation similar to proposals by senate negotiators and president obama. the groundbreaking measure could be unveiled within a matter of days. president obama says he would like the whole process wrapped up in six months. >> it's been too long since we reformed the system. and we're starting to see a bipartisan consensus build around this. >> florida lawmaker mario diaz has seen a sea cha

have wayne lapierre head of thenra,gabbygifford's husbandstrong gun control advocate and then this 18-member panel, some of the strongest senators we've got, all talking about one of the most divisive issues we face. emotions could run high today when the husband of former congresswoman gabrielle giffords will join wayne lapierre to testify on gun control. pa trach lay hee called the hearing in response to the newton shooting where 20 children and six adults were killed. but lapierre says he doesn't believe the shooting should lead to new gun control laws. he plans to tell the committee law-abiding gun owners will not accept the blame of criminals. we could see fire here on capitol hill when senator dianne feinstein gets her turn to question lapierre at today's hearing. feinstein has been an outspoken critic of the nra. tuesday she told reporters they have fought virtually every kind of regulation. the time has come to change course and the time has come to make people safe. lapierre says congress shouldn't pass any new laws until the government s

. you have wayne lapierre head of thenra,gabbygifford's husbandstrong advocate and some of the strongest senators we've got all talking about one of the most devicive issues we face. emotions cou run high today when the husband of former congresswoman gabriel le giffords joins wayne lapierre. patrick lay hee called the hearing in response to the newton shooting where 20 children and six adults were killed. but lapierre doesn't believe the shooting should lead to new gun control laws. he plans to tell the committee law and gun owners will not september the senator dianne feinstein gets her turn to question lapierre at today's hearing. feinstein has been an outspoken critic of the nra. tuesday she told reporters they have fought virtually every kind of regulatioregulation. the time has come to changed course and make people safe. lapierre says the government shouldn't pass any new laws until the government start ts enforcing the laws already on the books. it's still unclear whether gabrielle giffords will attend. but we understand there will be a surprise guest today. he's

difficult it will be to get something through congress. a plea from formercongresswomangabbygiffordswhowas shot in the head in 2011 during a shooting in arizona. >> speaking is difficult, but i need to say something important. violence is a big problem. too many children are dying. too many children. we must do something. >> reporter: president obama, who met with giffords tuesday, has promised action on the issue. >> we can't tolerate this anymore. these tragedies must end. and to end them, we must change. >> reporter: putting forth proposals that include an assault weapons ban, a ban on high-capacity magazines and the measure that is seen as most likely to go somewhere, background checks on all gun purchases, including private sales by owners. but there is resistance from gun rights advocates. wayne lapierre, the head of the nra, says the federal government is not enforcing its existing gun laws effectively and the answer is not more gun laws. >> none of it makes any sense in the real world. >> mr. lapierre, that's the point. the criminals won't go to purchase the guns because there

congressional hearing on gun control since the shootings innewtown.gabbygiffordswhosurvived a shooting two years ago made an appearance before the senate judiciary committee reading off a page of handwritten prepared remarks, she urged congress to act now. >> too many children are dying. too many children. we must do something. it will be hard, but the time now. you must act. be bold, be courageous. americans are counting on you. thank you. >> giffords husband mark kelly says expanding background checks should be a top priority but the nra's chief executive yesterday refused to give any ground. >> we know from what happened in tucson that if there was an effective background check which includes having the mental health data and the person's drug use in the case of the tucson shooter into the system and if, in fact, there was no gun show loophole, i would contend he would have had a very difficult time getting a gun. if background checks are good enough for somebody who is a federal firearms licensed dealer like walmart, for instance where i just purchased a gun a couple months ago, a hunt

gabbygiffords. >>they're going against the will of the majority of the people. >> exactly. i published an op-ed in the philadelphia inquirer a week ago and in it, i outlined three things we could do to make our streets safer and dry up illegally trafficked guns and i was braced actually for a barrage of angry e-mails from the people from the right and i got nothing but praise. >> look, i'm not -- >> people who describe themselves as -- excuse me. >> i'm not on principle -- >> thank you, thank you. from people who described themselves as right wing or gun nuts and they said they agreed with everything outlined and basically, it was threefold. background checks for all gun sales. increased accountability for gun dealers who are criminals and doing something to reduce purchasing in this country and they agreed with all three. >> so, first of all, the straw purchasing thing, this will lead to gun registration, that's the bottom line. because how do you track the guns? they have to be registered. that's really what this is about. >> register -- i mean, i don't understand. not going to do an

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